


Navy Wives

by Mooresomore



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-07
Updated: 2013-06-07
Packaged: 2017-12-14 04:34:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/832797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mooresomore/pseuds/Mooresomore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Disclaimer:</b> <b>This is complete and total FICTION. That means it never happened and is completely untrue. In fact, this is so far from the truth that it isn’t even in the same country as the truth. I don’t own anybody: Hawaii Five-O, the characters, and all referenced scenes belong to CBS, and I make no money off of this. I am not in any way implying said characters’ sexual identities.</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	Navy Wives

Daniel “Danny” Williams had known his life was going to change when he met Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett. He just didn’t know _how_ much.

They had been sneaking around for the first six months or so of their relationship, and as soon as DADT ( _Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell._ Danny remembered telling his mom) was repealed, Steve had asked Danny to marry him, and Danny had said “yes”. The ceremony had been small, Danny’s daughter Grace, and Steve’s sister Mary Ann were the only two there besides Major Chin Ho Kelly and his wife, Kono, and the minister (Danny promised his mom a real wedding later on during the year). After the “I Do’s”, Kono pulled Danny aside. “You’re one of us now.”

“Yeah.” Mary Ann (who was also a Navy wife) said.

“Huh?” Danny asked, confused.

“Oh, you’ll find out.” Kono and Mary Ann grinned.

~*~

The first week of their married life had started off normally (a honeymoon and no distractions for 4 days, and a quiet 3 days back on the post, _Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam_ , Danny reminded himself.), so Danny was starting to think Kono and Mary Ann were lying. Then Day 8 arrived.

It had started like any other morning; Danny and Steve had gotten up (Steve earlier, of course, so he could go for his morning run- Danny was almost to the point of thinking about joining him one of these days), and after getting Steve off to work, Danny sat down at the table and made his to-do list for the day (wasn’t that what every good Navy spouse did?)

- _Do laundry_

- _Clean out fridge_ (Danny was going to throw away some of the pineapples Steve had- who need that many of the damn things?)

- _Order new curtains_ (Danny’s ma would be ashamed of how the house looked).

Danny had just started the laundry and was about to take the pineapples he’d cleaned out of the fridge to the CDC (Child Development Center- they’d have some use for them, so they wouldn’t go to waste) when there was a knock on his door. He went and answered it, only to have four women (he knew two of them- Kono and Mary Ann) come barging in. When they saw the pineapples on the table, they said, “Face masks.”

“Uh, who are you?” Danny asked.

“We’re the ‘Navy Wives’,” Mary Ann said. “You know me and Kono; this is Catherine, the wife of Max, the other Lt. Commander on base; and this is Rachel, wife to Private Stan Edwards. We’re going to become your new friends, especially when Steve gets deployed again.”

“What?” Danny squeaked. They hadn’t talked about this. Steve was supposed to be on base all the time.

“It’s not for awhile Danny,” Mary Ann said. “He’ll tell you. In the meantime, let’s make face masks and get to know each other.”

Danny was never so glad that Grace was at school; this was embarrassing. “Seriously, do you guys use pineapple in everything?” he asked.

“Well, it is Hawaii, so yeah.” Kono said. “So, tell us about yourself, Danny, while we wait for the masks to dry.”

“Well, I am Danny– Daniel– Williams. I was born and raised in New Jersey; I only came here because of a job opportunity as a counselor, which fell through. My daughter, Grace, is 8, and had already been uprooted once, so I was going to leave her with my cousin Vincent –no, not Vinny, he’ll kick your butt if you call him that, trust me – and find another job. That’s when Mary Ann’s goofball brother ran into me – literally. I was crossing the street at 15th and Lovejoy – and I had the walk signal – when he turned right on the red light. He stopped before hitting me – barely, and jumped out of the care, forgetting to put it in park, so it actually _did_ hit me a little. He put the car in gear and started apologizing profusely. I told him it was no big deal, but he insisted to make it up to me. We went out to dinner that night, and the rest is history. I knew I was a goner when Grace called him ‘Step-Steve’ after three weeks.” Danny looked over at Mary Ann. “So, what’d he say about me? I’m pretty sure they were some interesting things.”

“He thinks it’s funny that you hate pineapple and ham on your pizza, and the fact you always were ties. Oh, and your musical selections.”

“Hey, the pizza thing is growing on me – although I’m still a sauce and cheese guy. And the ties make me look professional, unlike those damn cargo pants he wears all the time. And what’s wrong with Bon Jovi and Springsteen? Or Sinatra for that matter?”

The five of them laughed. The other four introduced themselves, Kono going first. “I’m Kono Kalakauka Kelly, wife of General Chin Ho Kelly. Our daughter Emmalin is in her first year at the University of Hawaii-West Oahu studying English. I am currently in my last term of law school.”

Next up was Catherine. “I am Catherine, Max’s wife. We have one son, Jeremy, who’s enlisted in the Naval as well; he’s currently at the U.S. Naval Academy. And well, Molly,” Catherine rubbed her belly, “Should be here any day.”

“I am Mary Ann, but you already know me and my two kids, Katie and Lucas, so I’ll skip the introduction.”

Rachel was the last to go. “I am Rachel Edwards. I married Stan after just 17 days. He adopted my two boys, TJ and Finn.” 

They washed off the masks (which, Danny had to admit, made his face feel really good –he’d never admit to it though, especially not the part that pineapple tightens up your pores). Kono said, “Let’s take you on a tour of the base, so you’ll know where everything’s at. I’m sure Steve hasn’t had time yet.”

“But…” Danny protested. Seeing the four women looking at him, he gave in. “Oh, alright. But not too long; I don’t want Catherine to go into labor.”

“Deal.” They agreed. Curtain ordering could wait until tomorrow.

“Hey.” Danny said when Steve got home that night. “There’s about twenty minutes until dinner.”

“Hey yourself.” Steve said, giving Danny a kiss. “I’ll be right back, and you can tell me all about your day.”

Steve came back down. “Ooh, your mom’s lasagna. You didn’t burn it this time, did you?”

“Shut up. But for your information, now, I did not.” Danny said as Steve set the table.

As they ate, Steve said, “So, what’d you do today?”

“Well, I did the laundry, because otherwise it’d never get done. Oh, I was going to order curtains, but I got sidetracked.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. The ‘Navy Wives’ ambushed me and we had a nice chat.” Danny said.

“Did Mary Ann make pineapple face masks again?” Steve asked.

“Uh…yeah.” Danny said. Steve knew by Danny’s voice that Danny had been subjected to the women’s day of masks and gossip.

“Oh, Danny.” Steve said. “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to do something, let them know. They’re cool about it. It’s just that you’re the new Navy spouse and all.”

“I kind of like them.” Danny admitted. They finished dinner and did the dishes. Steve told Danny to go sit on the couch. “I need to talk to you.”

Danny waited for Steve to come into the living room, his heart rate climbing every second.

“I know I said I’d be on base all the time, but they need me to go on this mission because of my SEAL training.” Steve started to explain.

Danny stopped him. “When and how long?”

“Month or two, they don’t tell us exactly when, and it’ll be 6 to 9 months.”

“Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Well, there’s not a lot I can say, really. It’s your job, isn’t it? Besides, I won’t be alone, I have four new friends.” Danny stood up.

“Danny, wait…”

“Just don’t, ok? Let me process this.”

“Operation Libya started it.” Steve said. “I thought I wouldn’t have to go. Then Colombia started to rebel. I’m sorry Danny.”

“I know.” Danny said. “I’m going to go to the beach for a few, ok I’ll have my phone.”

“Ok.” Steve knew it was serious when Danny went to the beach; he hated the beach. “Be home before curfew, ok?”

“Yeah.” Danny said as he left. When he came back a couple hours later, the house was dark. He decided to sleep on the couch (Grace was at her mom’s tonight, so Danny could’ve used her room, but he didn’t). He woke up in the morning (0445, like clockwork) to an empty house. Entering the kitchen, he found the note.

“ _Danny,_

I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the possible deployment earlier, but I didn’t want to worry you. I promise to be more honest in the future (or as honest as I can be – some things will always be classified. I’ll see you after work tonight.

 _Steve_ ”

Danny was confused. Steve never left without saying goodbye to him first. Danny called Steve’s cell. Steve didn’t answer, so Danny left a voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. Call me when you get this.”

Danny tried calling Steve again at 6 am, this time, he got through. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Steve said.

“You left without telling me goodbye.”

“Well, you were asleep.”

“That’s never stopped you before. If you’re still feeling guilty, don’t, ok? I knew when I married you that this was a possibility.” Danny said.

“Can I take you out to dinner tonight?”

“That’d be nice.” Danny said. “See you when you come to get me.”

“Ok. Good morning. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

~*~

They were at Rachel’s bar, The Golden Pineapple ( _Of course,_ Danny thought, _pineapple was always related._ ), hanging out and drinking water (well, Danny was, the others were drinking pineapple juice) when Catherine said, “Uh, my water just broke.”

Danny remembered the time Grace’s mom (Marissa) had said those words, and how he’d panicked, which had made her panic. He took a calming breath and said, “Ok. We’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No time. It’s 30 minutes away.” Mary Ann said. Danny did the only thing he could: he called Steve. “Steve! Help!”

“What’s going on Danny?” Steve picked up on the panic in Danny’s voice.

“Catherine’s water just broke and we can’t get her to the hospital- too long. How soon can you be here?”

“Half-hour. I’m in meetings.”

“Crap.”

“You’re going to have to deliver the baby Danny.”

 _In Rachel’s bar, The Golden Pineapple? Oh my life._ Danny thought. “How? I’ve never done it before!”

“You were there when Grace was born, right?”

“Uh, no, actually. Marissa booted me out.”

“Oh. I’ll walk you through it.”

“You’ve done this before?”

“Ask Mary Ann about Lucas’s birth sometime. Now, you’re going to need…” Steve started rambling. Danny barked out what they needed, and within 5 minutes, they were ready to go.

“I’ve got paramedics on the way.” Steve said. “Can you see the baby’s head?”

Danny looked. _This is just wrong._ “No.”

“Ok. On her next contraction, tell her to push. When you can see the head, be ready with a towel, because they come out fast.”

Danny felt like passing out; however, he did what Steve told him, and reassured Catherine along the way, and Molly was born. The medics arrived, and Catherine said, “Thank you Danny. And you guys,” she said, pointing to the other Navy wives.

“You’re welcome.” After hanging up with Steve, and going home to change clothes, Danny and the other wives went to go see Catherine, Molly, and Max (who Steve had given the rest of the day off) at the hospital.

Danny left early so he could get ready for dinner with Steve. When Steve got home, he looked exhausted, so Danny said, “Why don’t we just order pizza and stay in?”

“No, I wanna…take you out…before Grace comes back.” Steve said tiredly.

“Why do you have to be so stubborn? We’re ordering pizza and staying in. You can take me out of Friday, when Grace goes to her friend Lisa’s for a sleepover, ok?”

“Ok.” Steve grabbed a beer and sat down on the couch while Danny ordered the pizza.

“Why are you so tired?” Danny asked. “I should be the one who’s tired, since I delivered a baby today, thanks to your help.”

“Training for deployment. Had to run 5 miles in under 30 minutes.” Steve said. Danny got the pizza when the delivery guy knocked. “Only one box?”

“I can stand pineapple and ham every now and then.” Danny said.

Steve was almost falling asleep on the couch when they were done eating, so Danny got them upstairs and into bed. Steve was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Danny fell asleep quickly too, and didn’t remember a thing until the alarm went of at 0445.

After breakfast (waffles), and a promise to pick up Grace after school, Steve was gone. Danny decided to look at curtains. He ended up picking camo ones for the bedroom (they had blackout technology – not that he ever slept in past sunrise anyway), the pink princess ones Grace wanted, and for the living room, he went with the tan ones like they had now. He was about to go take a shower when his cell rang. “Hello?”

“Danny?” Mary Ann asked. “Can I come over and talk to you?”

“Sure. The door’s unlocked, but knock three times so I know it’s you.”

Ten minutes later, Mary Ann was sitting on the couch, accepting the cup of coffee Danny was handing her. “Sorry.”

“Mary Ann, that’s what brother-in-laws are for. You’re family. Plus, I’m a counselor, so it’s my job. What happened?”

“Rachel had said she’d watch Katie and Lucas. I had just gotten back from dropping them off and walked into my house when I heard, ‘Hey Mary Ann.’ I knew it was Nick right away Danny. He got into my house. My _locked_ house.”

“Did you go to the police?”

“Yeah. The said they’d keep an eye out, but I don’t feel safe.”

Danny wanted to say _I don’t blame you_. Nick was Mary Ann ex-husband who was on Team Delta, an elite task force. He had been abusive and threatening (which was why Mary Ann had left him). “You can stay here if you need to Mary Ann. Steve and I don’t mind. I’m sure Grace would like to spend time with Katie and Lucas.”

“Ok. I’ll call Steve later on, tell him what’s going on, and see what he thinks.”

“Sounds good. Speaking of Steve, he told me he delivered Lucas.”

“Yeah.” Mary Ann said. “It was the day after I’d left Nick. I guess the stress or whatever started the process. Steve happened to show up, and he helped me.” She paused. “He’s really lucky to have you.”

“Oh, right. 5’10” Jersey guy who hates pineapple?” Danny teased.

“Trust me. He could’ve done worse. Thanks for the coffee.” She said, getting up.

“You’re welcome. If you see Nick, call me. I’ll come over.” Danny said.

“Thanks Danny.”

Danny took his shower, then pulled out Grace’s baby book. He leafed through it, remembering how tiny his little girl used to be. _Ok. Way to be sappy Danny._ he thought, putting it away. He decided to go surfing, since he hadn’t done it in forever.

~*~

Steve came home that night, obviously worried about something. “Steve? What’s up?”

“I’m getting shipped out tomorrow.”

“But, I thought…”

“Like I said, they don’t really tell us a lot until it’s close to deployment time.” Steve said. “And with Mary Ann having to worry about Nick…”

“Hey, don’t worry about that, ok? I’ll take care of it. You just worry about your mission, Super SEAL.”

“Ok.” Steve relaxed a little. “Super SEAL?”

“What? Did you want ‘Super Sexy SEAL’?”

“That’s better.” Steve said, tackling Danny to the bed – no words had to be spoken, Danny knew what Steve needed. After they’d both collapsed back on the bed, Steve said, “How am I going to survive six to nine months without you?”

“Well, there’s this thing called mail. Or electronic mail. Phones. Oh, and Skype.” Danny said.

“Right. Are you going to tell Grace?”

“I have to. She’ll wonder, and I’m not lying to her. Plus, she’ll want to see you if we use Skype.”

Steve smiled. “I can live with that.”

“Now pack, Super Sexy Ninja SEAL.” Danny teased.

~*~

Grace knew something was going on when Danny woke her up at 4 am. “Danno?”

“Get dressed monkey. We’re going to see Step-Steve before he leaves, remember?”

“Yeah.” Danny had never seen Grace get dressed so fast; he knew she’d want to take the day off from school, and he was ok with that; he liked the idea of spending the whole day with her.

They went to the marina, where the Navy had their mobilization ceremony. Steve, in his dress blues (Danny’s favorite), came over to them. He hugged Grace first. “Be a good girl and take care of Danno while I’m gone, ok, monkey?” Grace nodded and hugged him tightly. Steve put her down and looked at Danny. “Take care of yourself, ok? And Mary Ann. Go to the other wives if you need to, that’s what they’re here for.” He hugged Danny.

“Get ahold of me when you dock?” Danny asked.

“I’ll try Danno.” Steve said. With that, he boarded the ship.

“I miss him already Danno.” Grace said as they watched the ship leave.

“Me too monkey. Me too.”

Danny and Grace ate mac and cheese, and as Danny was getting ready to tuck Grace in, his phone rang.

“If it’s Step-Steve, can I say hi?”

“Sure monkey. Hello?” Danny answered. “You’re in San Diego? Hang on, Grace wants to say hi.” Danny handed the phone to Grace, who said hi and talked to Steve for a minute. “Love you too, Step-Steve. Here’s Danno.”

Steve and Danny talked for a couple minutes, and then Danny said, “Call me when you get there, please? I love you too.” He hung up, tucked Grace in and went to his and Steve’s room. He could handle this. He’d been alone before. Of course, that was _before_ he met Steve.

The next morning, he took Grace to school, and went to check on Mary Ann.

“Oh, good, you’re here. I was just going to call you.” She said, “I decided to go ahead and move in with you, for right now.”

“Good.” That’s why Danny had come over; he was going to convince her to move in, so Steve could worry less about her. “Let’s get what you and the kids need.”

“Done.” She pointed to the three duffel bags in the hall. “Let’s go.”

After getting the rooms for Mary Ann, Lucas, and Katie organized, Mary Ann asked, “How are you doing?”

“Ok, I think. He called last night when they docked in San Diego.”

“The first deployment is always the worst; you don’t know what to expect. The other ones are a little easier, but they’re still worrisome. I know you guys will be communicating as much as you can.”

“Yeah.” Danny said. “So, what do you wives have planned for the day?”

“Well, Kono has class, so we’re planning to go to lunch with her when it’s her break. You’re more than welcome to come.”

“We’ll see.” Danny said. He just wanted to be alone right now. “There’s coffee if you want some.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Mary Ann said. “I’m going to go take a shower, not that you needed to know that.”

“Ok.” Danny sat on the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through channels until he found a classic Navy-Army football game. _Wait a minute, I know that quarterback- Steve._ Danny thought. He didn’t know Mary Ann had come back into the room until she said, “I remember that game. Dad was so proud of Steve.”

“He looks like he was a good player.”

“He was.” Mary Ann agreed. “Come on, let’s go to lunch with Kono.”

“But I wanna watch this.” Danny said. _It makes me miss him less._

“Navy wins 35-28.” Mary Ann said. “Steve scores the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left.”

“You do know that makes me want to watch it more, right?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, but your friends want to see you too.”

“Oh, fine.” Danny shut off the TV and let Mary Ann take him to The Golden Pineapple, where they met up with the other wives.

“Hey Danny. How are you?” Catherine asked.

“I’m ok. How are you?”

“Tired, but otherwise good.” They ate lunch, and then were going to go home when Catherine said, “Hey Danny, can I talk to you?”

“Sure. Go ahead Mary Ann. I’ll catch a ride home with Catherine.” When it was only the two of them, Danny asked, “What’s up?”

“I know I should have told you earlier, but Steve and I, we used to be a couple, before I met Max.”

Oh.” Danny couldn’t blame Steve; if Danny was straight, he’d ask Catherine out in a heartbeat.

“So, if he says anything mean during the deployment, don’t listen to it; he doesn’t mean it.” She said. “We’re doing mani-pedi’s tomorrow at my house and talking about deployment. You should come.”

“Thanks Catherine.” Danny said. He knew getting a mani-pedi was girly, but he thought it’d be fun to hang out and learn how the other wives dealt with the deployment.

When he got home, Mary Ann had picked up Katie, Lucas, and Grace from school. “Danno?” Grace asked.

“Yes Grace?”

“Can we make Step-Steve a mixed CD?”

Danny looked at Mary Ann, who nodded. “Yeah, it’s ok to do that.”

“Ok. Come here. I already had some songs picked out.”

“Go on,” Mary Ann said.

“Ok, Grace, monkey. Let’s do this.”

~*~

“It’s the longest six months of your life.” Kono said. “The only thing you want is them home.”

“Yeah.” Catherine agreed.

“I can’t watch the news.” Rachel added.

“Me either.” The rest of them agreed.

“How are you doing with it Danny?” Kono asked.

“Ok, I think. I’m already counting down the days. It’s weird not having him tease me about something every day. But, I talked to him last night, so that was good. And Grace and I made him a mixed CD of songs to remind him of home.”

“Good idea. We’re always here if you need us.”

“Thank you.”

~*~

Nick had left again, on a mission, so Mary Ann moved back into her own house. Danny was doing the dishes when his laptop dinged with an incoming Skype chat. Seeing it was Steve, Danny immediately clicked “Accept”. “Hey Super SEAL.”

“Hey Danny.” Steve said. _God, it’s good to see his face._ Danny thought. “How are things?”

“Grace lost a tooth, Mary Ann moved back into her own house for right now, since Nick’s gone, and I miss you. How’s it your way?”

“Miss you too. Nick won’t be back for awhile, I personally got to choose his assignment; I hope he likes Serbia.” Steve laughed.

“Ooh, you’re evil.” Danny laughed.

“Oh, I got the CD you and Grace made. Why did you choose the songs you did? I know a couple of them, but I like hearing your reasons.”

“Ok. We’ll go in order.” Danny said, grabbing the track listing. “ _Macho man_ : Um, self-explanatory Super Sexy SEAL. _You Sexy Thing_ \- again, self-explanatory. Grace picked “Mine”, she’s on a Taylor Swift kick right now.” He saw Steve’s smile. “Oh, you told her to, didn’t you?” he laughed.

“I plead the fifth.” Steve laughed.

“Anyway, numbers 4 through 6, self-explanatory. Grace and I found “In the Navy” and started laughing, so we put it on there for you. The Navy SEALs theme, well, you’re a SEAL- figure it out. _Danger Zone_ \- Grace’s. She knew you were in a dangerous place. _Hang on to Your Life_ -please don’t get killed. _Strange Times_ -Grace saw it on “The Vampire Diaries” and thought it’d be good to add – are you corrupting my daughter?”

“No comment.” Steve laughed. “I get the Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. New Jersey power.”

Danny laughed. “Damn right. And the last one, that’s for when you get home.”

Steve smiled, “Speaking of that, it may be soon.”

“Wait, what?” Danny nearly fell out of the chair. “It hasn’t bee six months yet.”

“Colombia’s being more cooperative than we anticipated.” Steve said. “Plus, I’m transferring to the Reserves so I can spend more time with you and Grace.” Steve’s smile faded when he saw Danny’s face. “Danny? What’s wrong?”

“The Navy is your life.” Danny said. “You can’t give it up because of me and Grace.”

“Danny, I’d been thinking about it before I met you. I’d be taking over getting the SEALs ready for deployment, so I’d still be doing something related to the Navy. And this job would make sure I stayed on base all the time.”

“Ok. If it’s what you want, I support you.”

“It is.” Steve said. “I’ve got to go. Tell Grace I love her. Love you Danny.”

“I will. I love you too.” Danny signed off and went back to doing the dishes. Then the phone call came. 

*

It was 5:05 PM. Danny answered the phone even though he didn’t recognize the number- Grace was at Lisa’s tonight for the sleepover party. “Hello?”

“Mr. Williams?”

“Yes.”

“This is Andrew with the Headquarters Navy; the HQN. I’m calling to inform you there was an incident on the ship.”

“Is…Steve’s ok, right?”

“They’re still sorting everything out. Either Steve or I will be in contact with you as soon as we can.”

“Thank you.” Danny hung up and called Mary Ann, who already knew (Steve had listed her as the second person on his next of kin sheet).

“We’re coming over to wait it out with you. We’ve been there before.” Mary Ann said.

“Thanks Mary Ann.” Danny said. The five of them sat around, waiting for the phone to ring. Finally, it did.

“Hello?” Danny answered. “Oh my god, you’re ok. What happened? Oh, right. Are you hurt? Ok. Yeah, I’ll talk to you later. Love you too.”

“That was Steve, I take it?” Mary Ann asked.

“Yeah. He can’t tell me what happened yet, because it’s ‘classified’, but he has a broken arm and some pretty big scratches, but overall, he’s ok. He said he was going to go to the hospital to get checked out, and then they were probably going to honor his transfer papers to the reserves.” Danny said.

Kono, Catherine, and Rachel left. Mary Ann said, “Did you know Steve chose Nick’s mission?”

“He mentioned it in our Skype chat tonight.”

“Well, whatever he did, tell him thanks. Nick wants to go to counseling and get things worked out.”

“I will.” Danny said. “It doesn’t seem like this really happened. “I mean, I just talked to him an hour ago.”

“Things happen.” Mary Ann said. “Just wait until he gets back; you’re going to have one grumpy navy SEAL on your hands.”

“Huh?” Danny asked.

“Steve hates being injured,” Mary Ann answered. “He’ll break the rules. You’re going to have to keep a close eye on him.”

“I will.” Danny said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” Mary Ann left, and Danny was alone in the house. He fell asleep on Steve’s pillow that night, saying “thank you” to god for not taking Steve away. He’d wait to tell Grace until she got back from her sleepover.

~*~

Apparently, Steve’s injuries were worse than they originally thought; he had been shipped to the Naval hospital in San Diego for closer observation. Danny left Grace with Mary Ann and went to go see Steve.

He walked into Steve’s hospital room. The guy looked like Steve, only he was more bruised and scarred than Danny had ever seen. “Steve?”

“Danny?”

“Yeah, I’m here. Are you ok?’

“A little sore.”

“A little sore? Steve, you’re bruised and cut all over your body, and you have a broken arm. You should be more than just a little sore.”

“Pain meds.” Steve smiled.

“Good boy. You use them too, you got that?”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Steve smiled.

“Oh, you goof.” Danny smiled. “Here, I almost forgot to give you this.” Danny handed him the card Grace had made. “Grace made it, so excuse the excessive glitter.”

Steve opened and read the card. “Tell her Step-Steve is ok, and will be home in a couple weeks.”

“So, about the transfer…?”

“Approved.” Steve said. “And I’m happy. I’m too old for this.” He teased, but Danny heard the undertone: _I’m afraid of getting hurt worse next time._

“Super SEAL, I love you, but I gotta go. I’ll see you when they bring you back to base next week.”

“Ok. Bye Danny.”

“Bye Steve.”

~*~

When Danny told Grace that Steve was coming home this weekend, she immediately started planning his “welcome home” party, enlisting the other wives’ help.

Steve walked into the house and saw the banner Grace had made; he started to tear up.

“You ok Step-Steve?” Grace asked.

“Yeah, sweetie. It’s just nice to be home. These are happy tears.” Steve promised.

After getting Steve settled in on the couch, Danny got Grace to help him bring dinner into the living room. “For your TV watching pleasure, I present Navy vs. Army football.”

“Oh my gosh.” Steve said.

“Is that you?” Grace asked, pointed to Navy’s quarterback on the screen.

“Yep, Grace, that is.” Steve said.

“Wow.” They watched the game (which ended the way Mary Ann had said it would), and then Grace went to bed (she had school the next morning).

“Are you comfortable?” Danny asked.

“Yeah. Do you want to know what happened?”

“I thought it’s classified.”

“It is, but don’t tell them I told you.” Steve grinned.

“Ok, what happened?”

“I had just hung up from my Skype chat with you when I heard noise downstairs. I heard ‘grenade’, so I ushered all the men on the floor with me to get in the metal-floored room farthest away from the intruder below. I was just finishing clearing the last room before going into the room with my men when it went off. The wood floor that I was on broke and I fell down onto the metal floor below.”

“Oh, god, Steve. Was everyone ok?”

“My men and me? Yeah. The bomber, well, he died, obviously. There was one of our SEALs who was critically wounded, but for the most part, we escaped serious injury. This just solidified my decision to transfer to the reserves.”

“Babe, I’m sorry.” Danny said again. “Do you feel like going upstairs to bed?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice.”

Steve woke up at 4 am like he always did, and got up like he was going to go for his morning run. Danny (who hadn’t slept well), said, “Oh no you don’t. You’re injured Steven.”

“Fine.” Steve grumbled, but crawled back into bed. After getting Grace off to school, Steve said, “I’m going to go talk to Dr. Adams, see what he thinks about my injuries.”

“Ok.” Danny knew Steve was going to be stubborn about this; Mary Ann had already warned him.

When Steve came back an hour later, Danny asked, “What’d Doc say?”

“One more week.” Steve said. “And no sex for a week either.”

“Steve, we survived 5 months and 10 days without sex; what’s another seven days?”

“You kept track?”

“Of the days you were gone, yeah.” Danny said. “Did you go see Mary Ann yet?”

“No.”

“Go. I think there’s something she wants to tell you.”

~*~

The first time Danny noticed the change in Steve’s mood, it was when Danny did the dishes.

“We have a dishwasher, you know.” Steve snapped. Danny loaded the dishwasher the next day, and it seemed that was that.

Over time, the mood swings got progressively worse. Finally, Danny had enough and said, “I want you to go get looked at for PTSD. I don’t want you to hurt yourself or someone else.”

“I don’t need fucking pills!” Steve had stormed off. He cane back hours later. “I saw the doctor, happy? And he gave me some Prozac.”

“Look, Steve…”

“Don’t. Just fucking don’t.” Danny slept on the couch that night; Steve wasn’t Steve.

After a day or two, Danny finally convinced Steve to fill the prescription. “Please?” When Danny threatened taking Grace away and sending her to live with her mom until Steve got better (something Danny hated to resort to), Steve finally complied.

Steve had been taking the medication like he was supposed to; he’d also went and talked to someone about what had happened, so when he asked Danny if he could stop taking it, Danny said, “Talk to your doctor first. I don’t mind. But if it starts up again, you will go talk to the doctor again, got it?”

“Yes.”

Steve’s doctor decided that it was ok for Steve to start tapering off the medicine, and he gave Steve a set of instructions. 

When Steve got home, he said, “Can I take you and Grace out to dinner tonight?”

“Sure.”

After a nice family meal, and getting Grace ready for school, Steve and Danny went up to their room.

“Thanks for making me get the help I needed.”

“Not a problem. I didn’t want to see you overwhelming those SEALs.”

Steve kissed Danny, their first _real_ kiss since Steve had come back. Danny felt like his whole body was on fire, and he said, “Not with Grace downstairs, you goof.”

“Tomorrow after she leaves?”

“Don’t you have to teach class?”

“Crap.”

“She’s going to her mom’s on Friday. Can you wait that long?”

“I think so. Hey Danny, do you want to go on my run with me tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

~*~

After the run (which Danny had to admit wasn’t too bad), and getting Grace off to school, and Steve off to work, Danny sat in the house. He called his mom. “Hey ma, it’s me, Danny. How would you feel about a summer wedding in Hawaii? Of course ma. I have to talk to him about it first. Love you too.”

Grace came home from school, and sat right down and did her homework. When Steve got home, they ate, and watched Jeopardy (Grace beat them both that night).

Danny told Steve about the summer Hawaiian wedding that his family wanted to throw them. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”

“No, I wanna meet your family Danny. They’re a huge part of your life.”

“Yeah.” Danny agreed.

~*~

 _It’s Friday._ Danny thought as he woke up and joined Steve on his morning run. Steve seemed to have the same thought as Danny.

Danny somehow managed to set through the discussion on paint colors, even offering his opinion ( _If he wants to paint it green, and you want to paint it blue, why not compromise and paint it teal?_ ). Finally, it was 5 pm. Grace was at Marissa’s, the wives were gone (and Mary Ann and Nick had taken the kids to a movie or something), and Steve had just walked through the door.

“Hey.” Steve said.

“Hi.” Danny answered. It felt like they were back at the beginning stage of their relationship (which in a sense, they were).

“I’m going to take a shower. Had to show them how to pick a lock underwater.” Steve said. “You can join me if you want to.”

“I’m good, thanks.” Danny knew he could’ve joined Steve; he just wanted their first time since Steve got back to be in a bed, not against a shower wall (besides, he’d waited 6 months, 2 weeks, 4 days, 10 hours and 18 minutes, what was another 20 minutes?).

Steve’s shower only took 8 minutes ( _A record for him._ Danny thought; Steve’s showers usually took 20 minutes- or more). He walked into the bedroom, finding Danny on the bed, lost in his own headspace. “Danny?”

“Huh?” Danny said.

“Are you nervous?” Steve asked.

“A little.” Danny admitted. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“No, it’s not. Why don’t we take baby steps, like we did when we first met?”

“Ok.” Danny smiled. “I can do that.” Then, a lightbulb went off in his head. “Hey, we never took baby steps.”

“Ah, Danno, you remembered.” Steve teased. “We can reenact that night if you want to.”

“Nah, let’s make a new ‘first night’.” Danny said as he kissed Steve. “I have a tendency to move fast, so slow me down if you need to. I’m Danny by the way.”

“Steve.” Steve said as he started to undo Danny’s tie (why the man rarely wore a t-shirt and jeans, Steve didn’t know), and shirt buttons. “This too fast for you?”

“Nope. Just my speed.” Danny said as he pulled off Steve’s towel. “Lay back on the bed.” Danny admired the view of Steve below him as he got the things he needed out of the drawer.

They didn’t speak much (they never had); there were moans and groans, and oh god, Danny had forgotten what it was like to see Steve like this: writhing under his touch, begging Danny to fuck him already.

Danny listened to Steve’s pleas and pressed into Steve. “Fuck.” He said.

“That’s what you’re supposed to be doing to me,” Steve quipped, and, ok, that made Danny relax a little. He started to set a rhythm, and when Steve about levitated off the bed, Danny knew he’d found the right spot. He kept aiming for that spot, grabbing Steve’s cock with the hand that wasn’t balancing himself.

Steve came first; his blessed out, relaxed state made Danny come a moment later. He collapsed down on top of Steve. “Just…wow.”

“Hey.” Steve said as Danny pulled out and went to get a towel so they could clean up. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

“You ready for round two?”

“Steve, not all of us are Super SEALs like you.” Danny joked.

“Let me know when you’re ready.” A half-hour later, Danny found himself pinned under Steve, and yeah, he could used to this again.

They barely left their room all weekend, except for the necessary things (food, water, the nightly phone call from Grace). Marissa dropped Grace off Sunday evening, and they watched a movie and went to bed.

~*~

“Hello?” Danny answered when he saw it was Steve calling. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah. Can you come down here? I want to talk to you.”

“Uh, sure. Give me 5 minutes?” Danny still wasn’t sure why Steve watched to see him. _Guess there’s only one way to find out._

Danny was escorted to Steve’s office, and was surprised to find another person in there. “Hello? Lt. Commander McGarrett?” Danny asked, being professional. “You wanted to see me sir?”

“Yes. Have a seat. Mr. Williams, this is Mrs. Jameson. She’s head of the CDC.”

 _Oh crap._ “Hello, Mrs. Jameson. Danny Williams.” They shook hands and then Mrs. Jameson said, “Lt. Commander McGarrett tells me you’re a counselor. Is this true?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good. We have an opening for a counselor at the CDC. Would you be interested in the job?”

“Yes ma’am, I would.”

“Welcome aboard Mr. Williams. Lt. Commander McGarrett has some paperwork for you to fill out. I expect to see you at 6:45 am tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll be there ma’am. Thank you.”

Mrs. Jameson left, and Steve handed Danny a huge pile of paperwork. “Have fun.”

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“To teach class.”

“Can I come? I’ll sit in the back and do my paperwork. I promise.”

“Ok.”

“Thank you Steve. I owe you.”

“I think I know a way you can make it up to me.” Steve grinned.

Danny watched as Steve taught the seals about underwater explosion techniques. When he noticed Steve was looking at him, he dropped his eyes back down to his paperwork. He had it all done by the time class got out an hour later.

“Done.” he handed it back to Steve. “I’ll see you at home?”

“Yeah. I’ll bring home a pizza, so don’t worry about marking dinner.”

“Ok.”

~*~

 _Of course it’s pineapple and ham._ Danny thought as he saw the one pizza box. When he opened it up, though, he found a plain four-cheese pizza.

“Steve? What is this?” Danny asked.

“It’s a ‘congratulations for getting the job’ treat. I even brought malasadas.”

“Thanks.” Danny said. “Grace! Dinner.”

After eating and playing Jeopardy (which Danny won- thank you final Jeopardy category in which the answer was Bon Jovi), and getting Grace to bed, Steve and Danny sat out on the lanai, watching the waves hit the shore.

“Hey, I’m proud of you.” Steve said.

“I’m proud of you too, my super tough SEAL.” Danny said. “Do you really still do underwater explosions?”

“Yeah.” Steve grinned. “Maybe this weekend, I could teach you how. We’ll make you an honorary SEAL yet.”

“That’d be cool.”

“Come on, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. You need your rest.”

“Ok.” Danny let Steve pull him up out of the chair.

“And don’t wear a tie.”

“What? Ties make me look professional…” Danny started ranting and waving his hands around. He stopped when he saw Steve laughing. “Oh, you _had_ to do that, didn’t you? You can sleep on the couch tonight.”

“We both know you’ll never sleep. And I don’t want to have to come to rescue some poor kid from their counselor.”

“Ha ha. You’d better make it up to me tomorrow.”

“I will Danny. I promise.”

~*~

Danny woke up in the morning to an “Ouch! Frickin’ A!” coming from the kitchen. When he felt the bed and found empty sheets, he knew Steve was trying to make breakfast. Danny realized Steve had refrained from cursing because of Grace; he smiled (he’d train Steve yet).

Danny walked downstairs and found Steve at the stove, trying to make pancakes. “Move over Super SEAL, let the master do his work.”

Steve handed over the spatula, but not before whacking Danny on the ass with it. “Morning Danny.”

“Good morning Steve.” After breakfast, Danny took Grace to school and Steve went to teach his class.

Halfway through his day, Danny got a call. “Hello?”

“How goes it Dr. Phil?” Steve teased. Danny saved the rant for now; there was no need for the kids to think he was psychotic.

“Good actually. How’s class?”

“Fun. We’re getting ready to blow stuff up.”

“Don’t make too much of a mess, and remember, you’re teaching me that this weekend.”

“Yep. You’ll be home at around 3:30, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just curious.” Danny knew that voice; if he could see Steve’s face, it’d be the _I’m-lying-through-my-teeth_ face, #26 in Danny’s list of Steve’s faces.

“Yep. 3:30.” Danny said. “I’ll see you tonight. I gotta go, there’s some kid waiting to see me.”

“Ok. Bye.”

“Bye.”

~*~

When Danny got home, Steve was there, but Grace wasn’t. “Steve, where’s Grace?”

“Over at Mary Ann’s. The wives were going to do makeovers or something.” Steve said, holding out a box. “This is for you.”

Danny opened it. “A tie? But I thought you hated me wearing ties.”

“I had a different use in mind.” Steve said, grinning, and _Oh._ Danny was on board with that idea. Seeing that look in Steve’s eyes, yeah, that was something Danny could get used to.

“Well, ties don’t tie themselves.” Danny said. They raced up to their room, where Steve grabbed another one of Danny’s ties. “What?” Danny started to ask.

“Do you trust me?” Steve asked.

“With my life.” Danny answered.

“Ok. Get naked and lie back on the bed.” Once Danny did, Steve said, “Ok, give me your arms.” With one of the ties, he tied Danny’s arms behind his back. “Ok so far?”

“Yeah.” Danny said. Steve got all the stuff he needed, then he stripped down too and asked Danny, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Steve blindfolded Danny using the other tie. “If you don’t feel comfortable at any time, let me know Danny.”

“I will.”

Steve kissed him and _Holy hell_ Danny thought. Not being able to see made him more aware of the other things- the way Steve’s tongue felt against his; the way Steve’s fingers were like fire everywhere they were touching Danny, among other things. Steve seemed to take his time, which made Danny try to move, which tightened up the knot on his hands, and that’s when he remembered he was tied up.

“Steve…please.” He said, and Steve, that fucker, he started to tease Danny: a stroke of his cock here; a lick of his nipple there; a kiss. Danny was starting to get annoyed with not being able to do anything, so he started in on a rant. “God dammit McGarrett, I swear if you don’t do something right fucking now, I _will_ ban you to the couch for eternity.”

Steve seemed to pick up what Danny meant; he slicked up a finger and pressed it into Danny, who instinctively pressed back. Soon a second finger joined the first, and then Steve slicked up his cock and pressed in. He didn’t move at first, giving Danny a minute to adjust. Danny started in on another tirade. “McGarrett…move. I swear…fuck.”

That was the last coherent thing Danny said; not being able to see Steve meant Danny could _feel_ Steve moving in and out of him, and it should have been gross to think of that, but it actually turned Danny on more. When Steve grabbed Danny’s cock and started moving his hand up and down, Danny knew he wasn’t going to last long- it was like a sensory overload, but the best kind.

Danny came a couple minutes later; Steve came right after him. After they’d both recovered, Steve untied the ties. “Holy shit, Danny, that was…just, wow.”

“I know.” Danny smiled. “That was hot.”

“Yeah.”

“Next time, I’m tying you up.”

“Bring it babe.”

“I’m going to go take a shower.” Danny said. “Wanna join me?”

“Nah, in case Grace comes home early.” Steve said.

“Oh. Right.” After they’d both showered, they went downstairs.

“What’d you do today?” Steve asked.

“It’s classified.” Danny couldn’t help but tease. “But, I got to meet a few of the kids. I think I’m going to like this job.”

“Good.” Steve said. “Hey, about this weekend. I was thinking, since we have Grace, why don’t we take her swimming with the dolphins or something. I don’t think she needs to learn how to blow stuff up underwater.”

“Damn straight she doesn’t.” Danny said. “I don’t need you corrupting her anymore than you already have.”

“What?”

“She loves pineapple and ham pizza, and this thing called surfing.”

“Hey, you like surfing.”

“That’s beside the point.” Danny laughed. “But, I think swimming with the dolphins is a great idea.”

Grace chose that moment to walk through the door with Mary Ann. She didn’t look eight anymore, she looked eighteen. “Hi Danno, hi Step-Steve.”

“Hi. You look…all grown up. I don’t think your dad’s going to let you out of the house looking like that.”

“Only with the right supervision.” Danny said. “Thanks for letting her do that with you guys Mary Ann.”

“Not a problem. We’re always available if you need us to watch her. Congrats on the job by the way.”

“Thanks. How are you and Nick doing?”

“Good. He may actually not have to sleep on the couch tonight.” She said.

“Wow, that’s a big step in the right direction.” Steve said.

“I know.” Mary Ann smiled. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye.”

~*~

 _Swimming with the dolphins was a great idea_ , Danny thought as he watched Grace, who smiled and waved at him.

They went out for ice cream after that, and _that was the best weekend ever _, Danny thought.__

__Steve and Danny went to the training facility the next weekend (when no one was there of course), and practiced underwater explosions. (The other things they got up to in the pool, Danny would never mention, but he was pretty sure he could never look at the pool in the same way again.)_ _

__The next couple of weeks were crazy: Steve was training recruits to get ready for deployment; and Danny was trying to get everything ready for the next school year, since they were in the last week of _this_ school year._ _

__~*~_ _

__The first couple weeks of summer vacation had gone well; when Danny’s mom called to ask about the wedding, Danny had almost forgotten about it._ _

__“Uh, yeah, next week sounds good ma.” Danny said, knowing he’d never win an argument with his mom. When he got off the phone, he said, “Steve? That was my mom. We have a week to get everything ready.”_ _

__“Are we picking what we’re wearing?”_ _

__“No, she said it’s already under control. Besides, I would _not_ let you wear cargo pants and a t-shirt and a lei for our wedding.”_ _

__Steve pouted. “On our second honeymoon then?”_ _

__“We’ll see. Wait, second honeymoon?”_ _

__“Yeah.” Steve said._ _

__“When were you going to tell me this Steven?”_ _

__“Eventually.” Steve grinned._ _

__“I hate you.”_ _

__“You love me.” Steve smiled._ _

__“I do. Come on, the house isn’t going to get itself ready.”_ _

__~*~_ _

__Once all of Danny’s family arrived, it was complete mayhem. Somehow, Steve managed to remember who everyone was._ _

__True to her word, Danny’s mom had everything ready (how she knew Steve’s size, Danny didn’t know, nor did he _want_ to know)._ _

__The other wives helped decorate, and Grace was the flower girl (throwing hibiscus flowers of course)._ _

__Danny’s cousin Jimmy performed the ceremony, and after getting congratulations from everyone, Danny’ s mom said, “Ok, leave Grace with us, and go celebrate you two.”_ _

__Danny’s “Uh…” was drowned out by Steve saying, “Thank you Mrs. Williams.”_ _

__“Call me ma, since you’re a member of the family now.”_ _

__“Uh, thanks ma.”_ _

__“You’re welcome. Go.”_ _

__As they left, Danny asked, “How long have you had this planned?”_ _

__“Only a couple of days. Honestly. Your mom called and talked to me.”_ _

__“She what?”_ _

__“Told me to take you somewhere; that she’d watch Grace. Said we needed a break.” Steve said as he pulled into the parking lot. “I think she’s right.”_ _

__“Probably.” Danny laughed. When they got into the room, Danny pulled out the gift he’d gotten for Steve. “This is, uh, for you.”_ _

__“Danny, I didn’t get you anything.”_ _

__“You don’t have to. I saw this and I thought of you.” Steve opened it and found the master cylinder for a 1974 Mercury Marquis._ _

__“Thank you.”_ _

__“You’re welcome.”_ _

__“I do believe it was your turn to tie me up and have your way with me.”_ _

__“I can do that.” Danny smiled._ _

__When they got home the next day, everyone but Danny’s mom had left, and Grace was sitting on the couch talking to her._ _

__“…and Daddy and Step-Steve have let me go surfing.”_ _

__“Hey monkey.” Danny said._ _

__“Danno! Step-Steve!” She ran over to them. “Gramma and I were just talking about you.”_ _

__“I see.” Danny laughed. “Telling embarrassing stories again ma?”_ _

__“No.” she promised. “I’ve got to go home. You’d better visit Jersey for Christmas.”_ _

__“We will.” Steve and Danny answered at the same time._ _

__After she left, and it was just Steve, Grace, and him on the couch, Danny thought about how this was the best life, and he wouldn’t want it any other way._ _


End file.
